Don't Say Maybe
by littlesheep
Summary: Sequel to Mistletoe And Crime. New Years Eve, Stella wants Mac to go to a party with her, but instead he surprises her with something special. SMacked! COMPLETE now [StellaMac]
1. Chapter 1

This is the promised sequel to "Mistletoe And Crime" – it starts right after the end of that story. It's pretty fluffy, I wasn't too sure about the rating – I'd call it an extended "T", I think it's not yet M.

The story features another Jane Comerford song (further explanation see beginning of "Mistletoe") – it's called "Head Over Heels". I strongly recommend to listen to it – it should be available somewhere online (or ask me). It's a beautiful ballad, amazing voice, very slow song, just very little piano sound. I can't tell if the story works without the atmosphere of the song since I only know it with it (so does my guinea pig reader) – try it out ;-)

Hope you like it, please review if you do – final chapter will be out tomorrow or Friday.

Chapter 1

"Let's take my car, you won't need yours the next few days anyway," Mac said when they reached the parking garage level.

"And how am I gonna get to work after my vacation?"

"I'll give you a ride," he smiled.

XXXXX

"You know what?" he asked after a while on the road. "Let's get a real Christmas tree. I mean, not just such a little plastic toy, a real one, a big one…"

Stella gave him a surprised look. She wasn't used to such spontaneous actions, not from Mac. He noticed her wondering look and smiled.

"Well, I didn't have a real tree in years and… Don't know, maybe it would be nice?" he timidly asked.

She knew where he was going with this.

"Yeah, sure," she nodded with a smile. "Let's make this a real Christmas! If you stop around Rockefeller Plaza, there's a big Christmas tree lot, they should still have some trees left, even at this time."

XXXXX

"Mac! We will never get this monster into my apartment… Not to speak of the elevator first of all," Stella complained twenty minutes later after they had finally managed to stuff an enormous tree into the SVU and fix the trunk deck that wouldn't close anymore with a rope.

"It was the nicest one they had left," Mac defended the tree.

"It was the biggest one they had left," Stella returned reproachfully. "So much for 'Size doesn't matter…'"

"What was that?"

"Nothing…" she mumbled.

"But you're right about the elevator… Let's go to my house then, I've got more space in the living room anyway and we only have to get it through the front door. Shouldn't be such a big deal."

"Yeah, but…."

"I promise, I'll get you home in time – I know you have to catch an early flight tomorrow," he slowly said.

"I'm sorry, Mac… I can't cancel the trip now. I mean, I didn't know that…" she tried to explain.

"It's alright, you need your time off, you go on your vacation trip and get some rest, you deserve it," he smiled even though he wished she could have stayed with him.

XXXXX

"Congratulations, it's a Christmas tree!"

Stella groaned after they had finally pushed and pulled the big tree through the entrance door of Mac's place. She leaned back against the wall and pulled a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Giving birth can't be much harder…"

Mac was leaning against the doorframe, breathing heavily.

"I can't tell, I haven't tried that yet…" he returned with a grin.

XXXXX

Mac dropped her off at her place later in the night. He walked her up to her apartment door and waited until she had opened it. Stella turned around and put her arms around his neck.

"I'll call you as soon as I got into the hotel, I promise," she whispered into his ear, feeling a closeness she never imagined would ever be possible.

He nodded silently, then pulled her closer to him. After a moment, he lifted her chin with his left thumb and looked into her eyes as if asking for permission which he found. She closed her eyes and tenderly returned his kiss until he let her go with a sigh.

"You need to get some sleep, we'll talk tomorrow – have a good night," he smiled.

"Good night, Mac," she smiled back.

He watched her go inside and waited till she closed the door behind herself before he turned to leave. At the elevator, he turned around once more, looking at her door with a smile. Christmas had brought him an angel this year – and he was more than willing to do things right and make them work.

XXXXX

December 31 – around 8 am

Stella groaned when the sound of her cell phone pulled her out of her sleep. Due to a delay at the airport, she had only gotten home at 4:30 am wasn't really in the mood for conversation. No need to look at the display, only one person would call this early.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" she complained.

"I missed you…"

Without wanting to, she had to smile about the whiny sound in his voice. That was so unlike him. She shook her head, apparently she would have to deal with this.

"We just talked a few hours ago before my plane took off, why are you not sleeping?"

"I did, I swear," Mac promised. "I can't help it, I just wake up by myself at 5 am every morning, then I go running, take a shower, have breakfast…"

"… and now you're bored," Stella finished his sentence.

"I was just wondering if… I mean, do we see each other today?" he carefully asked, not quite sure in what mood she was after he interrupted her sleep.

Suddenly Stella was very awake. This was an opportunity she couldn't let pass by.

"Do you take me to the New Years' party at Madison Square Garden?" she expectantly asked, knowing that the odds where closer that there would be snow in July.

"I'll pick you up at 6 pm, you go back to sleep now," he replied much to her surprise. "Sweet dreams…"

Stella looked at her cell phone which just gave a tooting sound with a puzzled look.

XXXXX

December 31 – 6 pm

He couldn't believe how incredibly sexy she looked when she opened the door for him.

"Stella, you look ravishing!" he exclaimed, his eyes immediately drawn to the deep plunging neckline of the short black dress.

"Like it?" she playfully asked, knowing from his admiring looks that this question was unnecessary. After he helped her into her coat, she grabbed her purse and they left the apartment together.

Out on the street, Stella looked around.

"Where's your car?"

He just smiled mysteriously. She followed his gaze to the left where a big black limousine approached and stopped right in front of them. The driver got out and opened the back door. Stella looked at Mac.

"May I help you in?" he gently asked, offering her his hand.

She just took it and climbed into the car, unable to say a word. This was way more than she had expected. Mac took place next to her, not letting go of her hand.

After a while, Stella looked out of the window and narrowed her eyes.

"Wait a second, where are we here? This is NOT the way to Madison Square Garden, we are…"

Mac quickly put a finger on her lips. He knew this was risky and maybe he should have told her before, but he didn't want to have an argument and figured that once she was in the limo, she didn't have much of a chance to back out. He didn't seriously expect her to ask him to let her out right away or to tell the driver to turn around and get her back home. Although there was still a little option for this…

"It's a surprise. Will you trust me?" he softly asked.

"Do I have a choice?"

"Maybe…"

He could tell from the sound of her voice that she wasn't mad, but rather a little curious and excited. He shook his head with a tender smile and touched her cheek with his fingers.

_I've been looking for a shining light  
I've been searching for so long   
I've been dreaming every lonely night  
For a place where I belong_

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Either I can blame the alert system – or nobody likes this one… Well, since this is a New Years story, I have to post the final chapter now, although I would prefer to wait until the alerts work again… I don't like to post if nobody reads it anyway. 

Btw – I had an idea of how to get around this frequent problem (check my profile for more!).

mj – normally I don't do this, but since you're the only one who read (or at least reviewed) chapter one – you get a BIG personal THANKS from me :-) Glad at least you liked it!

Happy New Year!

Chapter 2 

"Detective Taylor, how nice to see you. Mademoiselle, it's a pleasure to meet you," the owner of the restaurant welcomed them.

"Your table is ready, this way please," he motioned into the restaurant.

"Thanks, Pierre. It's nice to be here," Mac returned.

"May I bring you some champagne?" Pierre asked after they took their seats at the table.

"Sure," Mac agreed, smiling at Stella.

"You trying to get me drunk already before dinner?" she joked.

"No second thoughts applied," Mac lifted his right hand as if to take an oath.

"Don't make any promises you can't keep," she teased him with a wink.

XXXXX

After dinner, Mac suddenly got up, offering his hand to her.

"May I have this dance?"

He took her right hand in his left and led her to the dance floor. When she turned to face him, he placed his other hand on the small of her back. Stella gave him a questioning look to make sure he was doing okay with it.

"Good?"

He nodded with a soft smile. After a moment, she started inching closer, leaning her head on his shoulder. He pulled her closer, his arm circling her waist, his fingers moving up and down her side. Stella smiled as he did this, her eyes slipping closed dreamily.

She melted into him as she felt the rhythm of his heartbeat. He closed his eyes, while he buried his face in her soft curls, inhaling the seductive scent of her perfume.

_And now I'm head over heels  
And I'm down on my knees  
I'm head over heels  
And I'm beggin' you please  
_

Stella pressed herself closer to him as he wrapped both arms tightly around her waist. She kept her eyes closed as she wrapped her arms around his neck, their lips just inches from touching. She slowly leaned in and brushed her lips against his. If she had had any doubts that he might have problems with showing affection in public before, they were gone now.

After what seemed like an eternity, she gave him another gentle kiss, then pulled away completely.

"Hey, are you still with me?" he heard her voice bringing him back to reality.

"More than you would imagine," he smiled.

"This night is so wonderful, Mac. I wish this would go on forever…"

"Me too, but we've got something else on our schedule for tonight," he whispered mysteriously.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Don't be so curious," he replied chuckling.

_Take me to places I've never been to  
Cause I'm head over heels for you_

XXXXX

Half an hour later, Mac guided her out to the limo again. After some time he brought out a dark silk scarf. He smiled at her puzzled look.

"Mac Taylor…"

"Well, since this is supposed to be a surprise, I need to ask you to cover your eyes for a while," he quickly defended himself.

"Well, you know… if this is supposed to be some sort of foreplay, I need you to know that it's working," she said in her most seductive voice.

Mac blushed slightly, glad that she couldn't see it. But then he leaned in closer and decided it was time to play along. She offered him a chance to move on that he couldn't let go by.

"That's what I was hoping," he whispered, his lips almost touching her ear.

His breath tickling her neck and his intoxicating scent along with the seemingly accidental touches of his arm and leg brushing against her from time to time made her shiver.

He could read from her face that she enjoyed this experience. He carefully moved his fingertips from her shoulder down along her bare arm along the inside of her forearm to her hand. She answered his affections by teasing his palm with her thumb. Now it was his turn to shiver. Even though he was the one who planned this, he still had the feeling to be in the middle of a dream.

Won't you tell me  
_That you feel it too  
Won't you say we'll never part_

XXXXX

When they reached their destination, Mac helped her to get out of the car and led the way by putting his arm around her. Stella noticed a short ride in an elevator, then a door opened.

"May I take it off now?" she inquired.

"Just a little longer."

From the tone in his voice she could tell he was excited himself. She heard him arranging some stuff a little away, then he slowly approached her. She could feel that he carefully untied the scarf.

"Open your eyes," he gently ordered in a low voice.

She did and took a look around. They were in a hotel suite, the room they were in now was some sort of entrance room. Next door to this, a fire was crackling, putting the other room in a warm, shimmering light. Soft music was playing in the background. Mac didn't have to ask. He could tell from the look on her face that she liked it.

"Champagne?" he asked while he took off his jacket and loosened his tie before he took the bottle and opened it. He poured two glasses and put the bottle back before he turned to face her again.

"To us," he toasted.

"To us," Stella returned while they clinked their glasses.

Their eyes were locked and without a word Mac slowly took the glass from her hand and placed it back on the table. When he turned back towards her, his eyes captured hers almost shyly, his eyes asking for permission. She folded her arms around his neck and stepped a little closer. He could feel her body melt against his as he started to run his fingertips carefully up her sides to her back. She noticed his hesitation and gave him an encouraging smile to let him know everything was right.

_There's just one thing  
I will ask of you  
That you say it from the heart_

Stella sighed as his fingertips started to caress the skin along her bare back. She slowly removed his tie and started to undo the buttons along his chest, just as eager to feel and taste his skin. She started teasing him with her lips and tongue along his neck before moving on to his chest.

When she slowly moved her hands under his shirt, she felt his chest heave and sink with his increased breathing. She felt that he was getting nervous, yet she wasn't willing to stop. For now she figured he'd still have the chance to back out on his own if he wanted to.

She continued the sweet torture by working her way to his belly and then up again to meet his mouth. He gently started working on her lower lip while she returned his efforts by caressing his upper lip with the tip of her tongue.

Mac moved one hand into her soft curls to pull her closer to him, absorbing her kiss with every fiber of his body. Then he stepped back a little to turn her around and started caressing her neck with his fingertips, letting his lips follow them.

'_Cause babe I'm head over heels  
And I'm down on my knees  
I'm head over heels  
And I'm beggin' you please_

Stella felt her knees get weak as he brushed away her hair and started to kiss her neck. She leaned back against him for support and he embraced her waist tightly from behind as if never wanted to let her go again. She reached out behind herself, pulling him as close as possible towards her.

Mac continued his tender assault on her neck while his hands traveled her body. He could feel her pounding heartbeat with his lips. Stella moaned quietly and arched her body towards the touch of his hands.

He felt her hands travel to the front of his pants and he stepped back a little to give her better access. Then he continued where he had left off whispering against her skin while she brought her hands up behind her head to run her fingers over his short hair.

When she felt his desire against her body, she couldn't stand it any longer. She turned around to him, finding her own passionate gaze mirrored in his eyes.

"Mac, please…" she whispered.

_Take me to places, I've never been to_  
'_Cause I'm head over heels for you_

He lifted her up easily and carried her to the bed where they finished undressing each other. He had always imagined her to be passionate but now he was quite overwhelmed. She managed to bring out a side of him that seemed to have been forgotten far too long.

All he wanted to do was to please her the way she was pleasing him.

Stella was wondering how a man could be so strong and passionate and yet so loving and tender at the same time. She couldn't remember how long she had wanted to feel him this way. She dragged him closer, wanting to feel him more, loving his hands and lips, which seemed to be everywhere on her body.

Their eyes locked and both felt the passion rise to a point of no return. She started whispering his name over and over again until he finally joined her.

After their heartbeats had slowed down, they were still tightly holding each other as their eyes locked once more.

"Happy New Year," she whispered and gave him another tender kiss, knowing that this was only the beginning.

For a new year, for a new life. Forever.

_And in the morning light I see your face  
And all the sunlight in your eyes  
I know that I'll be lost in your embrace_

_So don't say maybe…_

_I want you baby…_

The End


End file.
